Opioid Crisis Raises Tough Privacy Issues

As CISOs, CIOs and privacy officers look for ways to boost the timely, secure sharing of healthcare information to improve treatment, one obstacle that potentially stands in the way is CFR-42 Part 2, a 1970s-era regulation.

That regulation, known as Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records, generally requires federally assisted substance use programs to have a patient's consent before releasing information to others involved in their treatment.

But in light of the current opioid addiction crisis, the regulation is seen by some as impeding timely treatment because it could lead to a physician not having timely access to a patient's complete drug addiction treatment history to support appropriate medical decisions.